Happy Early Valentine’s Day… I just love this window display by Lauren Gallagher for Booksmith, a book store in San Francisco. To create her piles and the wall of ‘aged’ envelopes, she’s tinted them with coffee and two colours of tie dye … there really is nothing like getting good mail, and whether it’s a valentine or a wedding invite, how absolutely delightful is it to come home and have something pretty waiting for us at the end of the day?
I’ve written about her save the date cards before, but how could I not post a new image from Irene Suchocki, a Montreal photographer with a penchant for hearts-as-lights, on this of all weeks? Check out her save the date cards for modern sweethearts and her Etsy shop of great greeting cards.
It doesn’t get much more “out of the box” than this video when it comes to one man thinking of a completely special and unique way to ask his girlfriend to marry him…
This is the very first Wedding Co. film! We’re so thrilled to have been able to put this together and hope to be bringing you more little flicks of studio tours, artist visits and product demonstrations. A huge thank you to Images Weddings (an Images Film+Video company) who co-produced the film with us.
Today we’re thrilled to announce that we’re incorporating video into our site. Companies on The List will now have the option to add a film clip to their profile in order to provide you with further details; we can’t wait to see what comes of this new endeavour. The first video to be integrated into our directory is from Images Weddings, it’s fitting that it’s a videography firm, no?
Later today, we’ll post our first Wedding Co.-produced video for another member of our talented community but without further ado, this is Images Weddings’ video:
In following our mini-day theme of the photo booth, we also wanted to address the fairly established idea that a photo booth doesn’t necessarily require 4 walls … one of the first photographers (in Toronto at least) who jumped at the photo booth concept years ago with her trusty and beloved Polaroid film and camera was Karen Whylie (Coyote Photo) who loved the idea of setting up one spot at a reception where guests could have their photo taken against a fun background and walk away with the photo.
Many other photographers have followed suit over the years and the silly antics guests get up to in these types of pictures at weddings and parties has only added fuel to the fire. Even though instant film is virtually unavailable today, photographers like Karen are still setting up their photo booth spot (think hanging backdrops, love seats pulled into an out of the way corner and outdoor locations) to establish a set spot for both formal and fun shots. The latest trend in weddings, to design an atmosphere through dress codes, decor and the use of props to set an event apart from the norm, has made any photo booth more appealing and we love that grown-up tickle trunks are popping up at weddings {Booth will even supply one if you ask!}… it just goes to show, everyone loves to wear a mask!
Karen now provides the ‘booth’ images as black and white pictures with a white border the way the Polaroids look when they are pulled from the negative. “The funky border only comes from printing the resulting neg. Sometimes we put a Polaroid edge on a final print, but generally we are printing straight B&W” she wrote in an email. “We post all the images taken that night to my passworded website within a couple of days. The guests love checking them out after the party.”
When we heard about this unconventional wedding, we were so excited to bring it to you, but we held off to fit it into our week dedicated to the image and for good reason. If there’s one thing we especially loved about this style of wedding celebration, it’s that it was entirely unique and modern, being heavily reliant on captured images, but without losing important personal touches.
Having made it to the ripe old age of 40 never having said “I do” I thought I could stay happily un-married-ever-after with someone I loved for the rest of my life. Yes, it’s hypocritical, but maybe I am a traditional non-conformist. Luckily, I met a woman who felt the same way. And the two of us were perfectly happy remaining a commitment-phobic committed couple – completely in denial, but completely in love. {blogged by Lorien Gabel}
When Lorien, who is a Toronto native and the CEO of Pingg, an online invitation site, discussed a wedding with his girlfriend Jessica, her response was: “The only way you could get me to show up at my own wedding is if I didn’t know it was a wedding.” “Sheer utter genius!” he wrote in his blog, and while their plan started with an elopement and an after-party, it developed into something a little more unique. “We knew we wanted people to see a part of our ceremony, but not necessarily sit through it in real time. We knew we wanted to celebrate with people, but we didn’t want the first dances, the toasts, the cutting and smearing of cakes,” Lorien’s blog post continued…
The final idea- we got married in Vegas in the middle of a desert, surrounded by sand, wind, rusted cans and a 3-person camera crew. We invited everyone to our combined 30th/40th bday parties (which was true), and using pingg, created what we thought was a unique invitation that symbolized us and our relationship. And we kept that momentum throughout. The day of the party, we showed our closest 170 friends a David Lynch meets Oliver Stone scripted movie with the surprise ending—footage of our actual ceremony. The place erupted. And my wife (whew, deep breath) and I, who didn’t even cry at our own ceremony, were brought to tears by ours and our friends’ reactions. The video looped in the background as 200 more people came to the party. And our night and marriage was complete. “We did.”
“It was [the] idea of taking something so firmly entrenched in tradition—a wedding invitation—and twisting it a bit, adding a bit of [our] own flavor and style, that allowed us to have the wedding invitation, wedding video, and ultimately, the wedding party we had always, yet never wanted to, imagine.” Lorien wrote.
A few weeks ago, we got into contact with Patrick Moreau at Stillmotion Photo + Cinema, a Toronto firm that’s been making waves recently. Their video and photographic work is original and refreshing and we were especially interested in the video as that profession seems to be going through a metamorphosis of sorts.
Here are 5 questions with Patrick:
The Wedding Co.: In general, what do you look for when you are shooting?
Patrick Moreau: When we are creating our imagery, whether it be photography or cinematography, we are looking for moments that speak to the originality of the couple and their true spirits. For example, you might see a bride in one of our films enjoying a big mac before she puts on her dress. A wedding day, to us, is much more about those little moments that often go unnoticed.
TWC: How do you edit all the footage to come up with your final piece?
PM: Our editing process is very much from a storytelling perspective and we assume the viewer doesn’t know the couple — we try to make a compelling story that anyone could interact with. Our methods are often unconventional (you will see very little black and white or slow motion in our films) as each is an original piece with a fresh look and feel.
TWC: The audio is always something we notice in your films, whether it’s a speech or the couple’s vows or a song … can you tell us about the audio component of a wedding film?
PM: The audio portion is just as important as the visuals. It is not just about having quality audio, but also really poignant sounds that propel the story forward. A sound bite can often communicate more in a few seconds than any visual can.
The soundtrack is often a struggle within the industry. Some studios choose the music, others like to reserve that creative decision {for the couple}. We do the research and make the final selects with the couple’s personalities as the motivating factor in our choices.
We can often go through hundreds of options before finding the perfect fit. It can certainly be a detriment to the overall connection you feel to a piece if the music selection is not perfect. In Hollywood, the soundtrack is often composed for the visuals, after the film is complete. If we are to learn anything from that, it would be just how crucial it is to get the right sound at the right time.
This week is all about men; getting groomed, cool stuff and looking dapper. It’s also about walking an only daughter down the aisle on her wedding day and what it means to have your best mates stand up with you at your own wedding. This is the first official post for our “groomed” category of the blog, but unlike our regular week-long themes, this is one we’ll be adding to throughout the year.
As always, we love your feedback, tell us what you’d like to see more of, what posts are you favourites and what topics we’re missing altogether. This week, you may want to forward a story or two to your own groom … subscribe and get the best posts each week in a quick and pretty format on Monday morning (and then you can pass it one to whomever you want!)
These photos are from our Creative Director’s personal files – some of Catherine’s favourite shots of her grooms (the one’s she was hired to photograph, that is) on their big days.
We’re leaving you this week with a stunning fairy-inspired wedding concept project by Tricia Fountaine, Tricia Fountaine Design: it is the most unbelievably perfect ending to our impromptu week of theatrical woodland whimsy.
We received the submission from Shirley Lo-Cadotte, Double Happiness Events, who worked on the project with its designer before leaving California for her new home in Toronto and we love that it showcases not only the incredible creative power Tricia is capable of, but also how her love of the Faerie world has led to such an amazing and tangible result.
A mid-summer's night feast
The final photographs are so inspiring, whether you have a soft spot for woodsy sprites and magic dust or not, because they show that anything is possible when it comes to a wedding’s design. We also love that this super fun shoot is made of almost entirely handmade items, from the invitation to the clothes, the moss-covered chandelier to the unbelievably gauzy, gorgeous wings, and the fabulous rings. While you may no want to re-create this magical day detail by detail, we like inspiration can come from a single element of it, or used to springboard to new ideas from; the brilliantly coloured cushions on the stump seats and the wedding party’s lanterns are both super ideas that could be incorporated into many events, and many themes for that matter.
The faerie bride and elf groom
Ethereal photos helped set the magical tone of the project
All photography by Elizabeth Messina (lots more images if you click to read more)
Image and project information found at
In following our mini-day theme of the photo booth, we also wanted to address the fairly established idea that a photo booth doesn’t necessarily require 4 walls … one of the first photographers (in Toronto at least) who jumped at the photo booth concept years ago with her trusty and beloved Polaroid film and camera was Karen Whylie (
